It can be frustrating to have a great presentation on your Mac and not be able to show it because you don’t have the right equipment. There are many ways to connect your Mac to a projector, but here are 5 easy steps that will get you up and running in no time!
4 Easy Steps to Connect Mac to Projector
Step One:
Find an adapter that will work with both HDMI and DVI connections, if necessary. Macs have a Mini DisplayPort which should work for any projector, but there are adapters available if needed for those who need them.
Step Two:
Connect cables as instructed by manufacturer instructions (usually plugging one end of the adapter into your machine and then hooking another cable coming from the other side of the adapter directly into where it would go on a projector). Turn off Screen Mirroring in System Preferences > Display Settings > Arrangement so that only what is being shown on screen can be seen instead of mirror images. Adjust brightness levels as needed.
Step Three:
Once you’ve connected everything, open System Preferences again and click on Displays (or Monitors & Screens). In here is where all adjustments can be made-make sure to adjust brightness levels so they’re not too bright/too dark for everyone in the room.
Step Four:
Power on your projector and make sure your Mac is hooked up to it! You’ll know when both are working together if a welcome message appears at the bottom of your screen that says “The projection system is ready.”
How to modify your display settings on a Mac
Macs have a Mini DisplayPort which should work for any projector, but there are adapters available if needed.
Connect cables as instructed by manufacturer instructions (usually plugging one end of the adapter into your machine and then hooking another cable coming from the other side of the adapter directly into where it would go on a projector).
Turn off Screen Mirroring in System Preferences > Display Settings > Arrangement so that only what is being shown on screen can be seen instead of mirror images. Adjust brightness levels as needed. Once you’ve connected everything, open System Preferences again and click on Displays (or Monitors & Screens). In here is where all adjustments can be made-make sure to adjust brightness levels so they’re not too bright/too dark for everyone in the room.
How to modify your display settings on a Mac
For better or worse, Apple is a company that likes to frequently update its ports and connections on its devices. This has made them both trendsetting (remember when they were the first to get rid of internal CD drives?) and frustrating (remember how they decided to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone?).
The port options for your Macbook Pro, Air Desktop are no different. There have been four connectors in recent years: thunderbolt 2 & 3; USB-C; HDMI 1.4b with audio return channel and VGA/DVI adapters available separately) — but if you own one of these newer models there are fewer than 4 possible plugs!
Conclusion:
We hope this article has given you the knowledge and tools to be able to connect your Macbook, Air Desktop or any other Apple computer with a projector. It can be frustrating when you have a great presentation on your device but are unable to show it because of lack equipment. We’ve provided five easy steps that will help make connecting easier than ever!
